Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Domestic ❯ Schnee ( Chapter 12 )

Domestic

WARNINGS:

1) I do not own FF8, Squaresoft, or get any profit out of this story

2) Rated PG-13 for violence, language, and sexual content

"A long December, and there's reason to believe,

Maybe this year will be better then the last

I can't remember the last thing that you said when you were leaving

Now the days go by so fast."

"Drove up to Hillside Manor sometime after 2 a.m.

And talked a little while about the year.

I guess the winter makes you laugh a little slower

Makes you talk a little lower

About the things you could not show her

And it's been a long December, and there's reason to believe

Maybe this year will be better then the last

I can't remember all the times I tried to tell myself to hold on

To these moments as they pass."

Counting Crows - A Long December.

Chapter 12: Schnee

The day had finally come. It was that time of year. A foot of snow laid on the ground as the final day of classes finished in Balamb. It was Christmas break. Zell couldn't be happier. Christmas was always one of his favorite holidays because Ma made the best cookies. She sent him a few in the past couple of weeks, but they always taste better on Christmas Day. Because of Ma, Zell had fond memories of Christmas. Unlike Squall or Quistis, who had been at the Garden since they could remember. They might have had a few good Christmases at the orphanage, but nobody really remembered.

This year was special however. This year there was a trip. A trip to where you ask? Well Selphie wouldn't tell anybody that. She spent most of the month carefully planning out everything they would do and see. Zell had a feeling that it was going to turn into more of a Selphie led tour then a vacation, but he really didn't care. A trip was a trip. Ma was a little disappointed that he wouldn't be home on Christmas day, but he promised he'd be home the twenty-seventh. Selphie only planned for the weekend, which included the twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth.

The other awesome thing was that everyone was coming. Selphie and Irvine, of course, were the first ones onboard. Zell agreed shortly after, followed by Quistis. The blonde wasn't sure why, but Seifer also decided to tag along. This almost ruined the trip, but Selphie promised that they wouldn't even have to look at each other. Rinoa was also quick to jump on board, and after much pleading, Squall eventually gave-in. Selphie was stoked. All of her bestest friends were finally participating in something she organized. This hadn't happened…ever. After everybody complied, Selphie could often be seen skipping down the hallways. Actually you normally saw her skipping down the hallways, but this was full out skipping. If there was a world skipping competition, Selphie would at least take the silver.

The only thing Zell didn't like about the trip, was that they had to catch a train in Balamb at 600 hours. That meant he had to wake up somewhere near 500 hours. Zell was definitely not a morning person. On days like these, he never got up early. Granted it was Christmas Day, but Zell overruled his love of presents with his love of sleep. At 530 hours, Zell decided it was time to pack. Selphie must have been confused, because she thought it was time to leave. Zell just shrugged and groggily packed his suitcase.

"YOU'RE RUINING CHRISTMAS ZELL!!!" Selphie screamed through the door. "IF YOU DON'T GET OUT HERE IN FIVE MINUTES, YOU'RE NOT GOING!! WE'RE LEAVING YOU BEHIND!!"

Zell loved making Selphie wait. He always got a kick out of making her angry. After ten more minutes of packing, Zell flung open his door. Selphie lunged at him. Zell never saw anything move so fast. Before he could react, his head slammed against the door, and Selphie had her hands around his throat.

"I've planned too long for this," Selphie growled; her eyes as wide as possible. "If you do anything this stupid again, I will kill you." With that, she punched him as hard as she could in the stomach.

Zell felt the wind leave his body, and he slumped to the floor. Trying to get his breathing back to normal, he watched Selphie pick up his suitcase and skip down the corridor.

"OKAY! Everybody's ready to go," she called cheerfully.

"Hold…hold up," Zell coughed. "I got…gotta do something real quick."

Selphie just glared at him. It was now 540 hours. The train left in twenty minutes.

Zell knew he had to act quickly, so he brushed himself off and darted down the hallway. He made it to Travis's room and knocked. "Come on! Come on!" Zell muttered to himself. After nearly three minutes, Riene answered the door. She looked drowsy, but smiled to the large blonde.

"Listen, I'm heading out for the next two days," Zell said as fast as he could. "Let Travis know training's off until I return."

"Ok," Riene yawned. "I think he's…"

"ZELL WE'RE GOING TO MISS THE TRAIN!" Selphie yelled down the corridor.

"I think he's going somewhere too," Riene whispered.

"Cool. Selphie's gonna kill me. I'll see ya later." With that, Zell sprinted down the corridor. It was now 550 hours, and it took five minutes to reach Balamb. It was going to be close. The blonde knew that Selphie would have his head if they missed the train, so he sprinted as fast as he could down to the Parking Lot. Squall had rented a gigantic van, so everybody could make it in one trip. Selphie called shotgun, and Zell slid open the back door. There was only one seat left.

"No!" Zell protested. "I refuse to sit next to Seifer! I'm not going!"

"Sit down," Irvine growled, grabbing hold of Zell's collar and tossing him to the back. Before he could complain again, Squall stepped on the gas and they pulled out of the Garden.

Zell thought about jumping out the window, but after they were going above thirty mph it seemed like a stupid idea. He'd take some injuries to avoid being next to Seifer, but coma wasn't one of them. Zell sighed and leaned back in his seat. "You said I didn't have to see HIM all trip," he whined.

"It's a five minute car ride Zell! Get a grip," Quistis scoffed.

"Tch…" Zell muttered. It was the longest five minutes of his life. Seifer wouldn't stay on his side of the seat, and he received at least three hits on the trip. Yet everyone thought he was the bad guy. It was a fine beginning to what was bound to be a fantastic trip. After they reached Balamb, the group bolted out of the van and ran for the train. Zell's shoes were full or snow by the time they reached the station and his toes were numb. They made it though. With freezing feet, Zell slumped against the train's far wall. He had done way too much running for 600 hours. Selphie, on the other hand, had energy to spare. She ran to the front of the trains to sing her "Train! Train!" song. Zell swore she had ADD sometimes, but decided this wasn't the best time to bring it up

The train ride was long and tedious. Zell slept through portions and thought about things the rest of the time. He could still hear Selphie singing in the next car, and Irvine was probably trying to hit on her. Squall ventured off somewhere, and when Rinoa discovered he was missing, she went to look for him. That left him with Quistis and Seifer. Quissy was still mad at him for his shenanigans this morning, and well…Seifer never really liked him. A very boring train ride indeed.

With nobody to talk to, Zell had a conversation with himself. He thought about the latest issue of Weapons Mon Monthly. Triumvirate were the newest knuckles on the market. They were a maroon color, with four blades running from the back of the glove to the fingertips. They were sick. His mouth watered just thinking about them. He wouldn't even have to make a fist; he could just backhand somebody and destroy them. Delicious. Thinking of primo gloves, Zell thought back to Demitrius and in turn Travis.

Travis's training had gotten better over the last couple of weeks. When the snow started to stick, Zell taught him the ol' "Snow in the Eyes" cheap shot. If you didn't have any blind junctioned, an easy way to throw your enemy off target is to use your natural surroundings. Snow could also be substituted for sand or mud. Granted, this was one of the moves that Travis did not enjoy learning. Zell found it fun however. He blinded Azerton seven times before the kid got a good one in. It can also be said that McNeese didn't enjoy the trick when he trained with them the next day. It seems like an appalling trick, but when you're fighting with your hands, you have to take every opportunity that arises.

Zell was actually happy to be away from the training. Travis was occasionally getting blows in, and when he made contact, it hurt. He was currently limping on his left leg, due to a devastating kick he received on Tuesday. Of course he acted like it tickled, but he had to lie down once he got back to his dorm. No sir, a little rest time never hurt anybody.

After this, Zell fell asleep. When he awoke, they were out of the ocean tunnel and trees were billowing past them. Zell knew the train only went to the Galbadia Continent, but other then that, he had no idea where they were going. It took what seemed like years. The train must have went past twenty different stations. It looped around Timber, Winhill, the D-District Prison, and Deling City. Zell was pissed. This was taking way too much time. After what seemed like an eternity, the train stopped at its final stop: Dollet. Northwest of Balamb, Dollet was a considerable twenty degrees colder. Freezing temperatures and five inches of snow was not Zell's idea of a good winter vacation. Usually one would head south, but apparently Selphie wasn't cold enough. Zell remembered Selphie's days at Trabia Garden, and it all made sense. She was practically a fucking Eskimo.

Reluctantly, Zell got off the train and walked to the hotel with the others. Dollet square was beautiful around Christmas time. A giant Christmas tree, at least two stories tall, was set in the middle of the square and all the shops had lights up. At least his hotel room would have a view.

"Hell no!"

"But Zell it's the last room."

"Not happening!"

"But you're the odd man out," Selphie pleaded. "I know I told you two you wouldn't have to spend time together, but I didn't think it would work out like this."

"But I can sleep on the couch in the lobby! Has anyone asked if I can sleep on the couch?!?"

"I'm sorry Zell," Selphie muttered, putting on her pouting face.

"Can't I stay in somebody else's room?"

"No, Squall and Rinoa were nice enough to take Quistis in. It would be rude to ask them to take you in too."

"What about your room?"

"Well…uh…well me and Irvine are going to be…um…busy. You don't want to be in a room when we're coming in and out all the time."

Zell decided to not take the implied meaning. It gave him the jibblies. Grudgingly, Zell dragged his suitcase upstairs. A weekend with Seifer was like a weekend with herpes; just bad in every aspect. Zell found the room and made his way inside. It was your regular small hotel room with two beds and a TV. Knowing Seifer would be up any minute, Zell threw his suitcase onto a bed and left the hotel. His game plan was to spend as much time as possible away from Seifer. To accomplish this, he planned to leave early every morning and not return until late. It was only for two days.

A slight flurry of snow had begun by the time Zell reached the street. Dollet looked like it had enough snow, but it wasn't sticking well to the already plowed streets. Zell pulled his hood up over his head to warm up his ears. His feet, on the other hand, were still wet and cold. The sun was setting, and the town was illuminated by the street lights. Zell's first goal was to find someplace warm. He found that exact spot a few blocks down the road. Dollet's weapon shop was pretty much deserted on Christmas Day. He found Triumvirate on the back wall. They were 9000G though, which would pretty much flatten his bank account. He figured he could afford them once he completed another mission, which was good because he hadn't bought new gloves in quite a while.

Once his feet thawed, Zell left the store and went to explore the rest of town. The snow was coming down a little harder now, and the blonde had trouble seeing things in front of him. Luckily, there wasn't a lot of traffic, so Zell walked along the side of the road. It was going to be cold night in more then one way. Once again, Zell's toes went numb. And he decided it was time to find another warm abode. He found a cozy pub and walked inside. A fire was blazing in the corner, and a bunch of round tables were situated throughout. Strangely, it seemed abandoned except for the barkeep.

"Card tournament," the man said, nodding towards a staircase to the left. "If you hurry up you might still be able to get in it."

"Thanks," Zell smiled, and took the steps two at a time. He could totally rock this whole card tournament thing. After much begging, Squall gave him the official "Squall Card". Since the defeat of the Sorceress, Squall's card now had two letter "A" on it. It was a destructive card, and had won him most of his past card games. That was against stupid freshmen though, so he was a little reluctant to use it. He also had Selphie's card, but everybody and their brother had that one, so its value dropped to the value of the Creeps card. Zell really wanted to get his card, but the only people who had it were his mom and Squall. He could never beat Ma, and Squall found it humorous that he couldn't get his own card, so he never gave it to him.

Zell had a pretty good hand though, and considered the tournament an easy way to win some good cards. The Garden often held tournaments, but they didn't have spectacular prizes for the winner, so nobody was stupid enough to use anything good. The prize for this tournament was 3000G, which was some hefty pocket change. Zell paid the 10G entrance fee and took on a local in the first round. The dreaded random rule was in effect, but Zell easily won. The blonde didn't carry anything lower then a level five card with him, and the local had three level one cards and two level twos.

There were at least 32 people there, so Zell figured he'd have to win at least four more games. The next game was against a visitor to the town of Dollet: Selphie Tilmitt.

"Damn, I didn't even see you," Zell muttered, as the hyper brunette sat across from him.

"Yeah I didn't see you either!" Selphie exclaimed with wide eyes. "Isn't that strange?"

"Yeah," Zell mumbled. He couldn't wait until the game was over. Selphie took about ten minutes before she would lay down a card. Zell left it slide for the first couple of turns, but it became unacceptable when it got to the later rounds. "You have TWO CARDS! One or the other! It's not that hard!"

"Well Zell, I'm behind. It's an important choice," she protested. The rest of the games were done already and they were now being watched by ten people.

Behind was an understatement. She was three cards behind making in 8-2. Zell knew there was no way she could win this, so he was about to yell at her. She quietly laid her card down and flipped one of his over. It was her Selphie card so she smiled smugly. This pissed Zell off, so he laid his Ifrit card down and took two of hers. Dropping her head into her hands, Selphie slammed her final card down

"I'll take the Selphie card," Zell smiled. "It'll be my eighth."

"You're walking home," Selphie scowled, sticking her tongue out. With that, she stormed out of the pub.

Zell smiled throughout the next round. It was another local man, and he was pretty good. The man had a lot of level seven and eight cards, but the random rule dealt him a bad hand. Zell cruised through the game and picked up a Jumbo Cactuar card and a trip to the semi-finals. There he met up with another local town person, but this one he knew.

"Small world after all huh?" Zell laughed sitting opposite his opponent. "You on vacation too?"

"I live here," Travis muttered, placing his first card down. "Well not here here, but in the vicinity.

"Oh yeah?" Zell mumbled, looking through his cards. It was a generally good hand. "You never told me that."

"I don't come home much."

"Why?" the blonde asked, finally placing down his Shiva card.

"I don't want to go into it. Let's just say I have a better time elsewhere."

"Oh…"

The conversation went uncomfortably silent while Travis picked which card he was going to place second. Finally he attacked Shiva's weakside and flipped the card over.

"Dammit," Zell growled. He looked down at his hand to see if he had anything good to counter with. He did, but he didn't want to use it yet. "So why'd you come home?"

"It's a tradition. If I come home for Christmas they leave me alone all summer. Plus I get presents."

Zell laid down a Malboro card in the bottom left corner. "What'd you get?"

"A clothes hanger," Travis laughed, while looking down at his cards. "It'll look real good in my closet." Shrugging his shoulders, Azerton laid down his next card and flipped one over.

"That sucks," was the best sympathy Zell could come up with. He looked at the playing board, and then at his hand. He placed another corner card to play it safe. "Me and the gang are down here on vacation."

"Who picked here?" Travis muttered. "Cold as hell."

"That's what I said!"

Shaking his head, Azerton laid down his fourth card, which flipped one of Zell's and gave him the lead.

For Zell's final card, he whipped out Squall. The card flipped two of Travis's and gave him the lead. "Well, I'll buy you something with the 3000G."

"Nah, I got it," Travis smirked laying down his final card. "Same, so I get these three."

"You totally suck," Zell scowled shaking his head.

"I'll take the Shiva card. You can keep the Squall card. You must've worked hard to get that."

"You can only imagine," Zell laughed, very much relieved. "It's getting late. I gotta head back to the hotel."

"Alright, see you back at the Garden. I'm taking the train back home tonight."

"Alright, good luck in the tourney." With a wave, Zell left the pub and once again hit the street. It had stopped snowing, but there was almost 7 inches on the ground. Walking in the plowed street, Zell slowly made it back to the hotel. He just couldn't wait to spend some more time with Seifer. Taking the elevator up to the third floor, Zell trudged to his room and unlocked it. Inside, Seifer was packing up his suitcase.

"Yo, you don't have to pack every night," Zell snickered. "Usually you just leave your stuff in drawers."

"Shut up Chicken Wuss," Seifer snapped. "We're leaving."

"Not with you I'm not," the blonde protested.

"Damn right," Seifer snarled, shoving a ticket into his hand. "Something happened at the Garden. We're scattering. You're heading to Deling City." The larger blonde clicked his suitcase shut and started towards the door. "Grab your suitcase and go. The train leaves tonight."

"Wait! What happened," Zell asked, his blood running cold.

"Squall already left. He said he'd be in contact." With that, Seifer slammed the door shut, and headed towards the elevator.

That would be the last time Zell saw him for a long while.